I felt tears burn my eyes when I bid my parents goodbye as they left me among strangers and unfamiliar faces. But wasn’t it me only who had with utmost confidence told them that I wanted to experience hostel life and that I can manage on my own! My romantic notions on hostel life was based on a staple diet of Malory Towers and The O’Sullivan twins and so on. But I felt my confidence dip a little as I turned back to go to my hostel room ...Its been two years to that date and I do not regret it one bit ..! Hostel life is a revelation ...it is a discovery...about yourself and about the various facets of human life!
Yes, the first few days are difficult...you have to learn to sleep on a new bed, have to learn to eat food that is as far removed from your mom’s cooking as possible , have to learn to do without the luxury of a TV at your disposal, have to live with the feeling of needing to rush to the loo...hihii...only to wait a little longer ..as it is occupied ! You may also feel that your seniors are the greatest boors in the world and the most insensitive possible ...but then a year later (its a PG course) ...why do you feel close to tears when these very seniors have to leave ? Why do you feel that these were the best people you have interacted with ? Why do you feel that the campus can never be the same again without those friendly, familiar faces ? Why do you feel that the same camaraderie can never be shared with the new batch about to join ? Why do you think that the junior batch which joined was the most unruly , the most noisy batch possible?Why do you feel they have too much attitude ...are over friendly and try their best to prove a point ??? Yes, my friends... you have become the Senior now!
Yes, in hostel, everything evens out ...levels out.In the end, it forms a rich and memorable part of your life.Yes, you learn a lot but again you should have enough confidence in yourself and in your identity that you dont change totally...you should learn to discriminate between what you should absorb and what you should not get involved in!
Hostel makes you realise how important your family is and what they mean to you.There are moments when living with the same people gets to your nerves...you want to get away , run off...but go where ...there is no escape . In life , you will meet people who are not on your wavelength , who have their own idiosyncracies ...and you may realise that you have some of your own too!Hostel becomes a microcosm of the world and its people . You will meet as many kinds of people as there are, coming from various cultures and believing in different values.Sometimes you feel as if you are alone in a crowd...as if no one understands.....but then you also feel the highest highs too!
A large group of friends to laugh and cry with ...when you fall ill, you dont miss home because of the warmth and care of your friends...and hostel , yes does become a second home. You learn to live without TV, learn to play new games and sports ...get cheered when you win a match ...your birthday celebrations could never be better...you work hard and party harder ! You work till wee hours in the mornings and sleep the whole day on a day off !You also learn to share the phone with 50 other people...celebrate India’s victory in cricket by marching from hostel to hostel and dunking everyone in vicinity with water!You celebrate every festival possible.. You forget whether its a Sunday or a Monday as you might have classes in the weekends too! You learn to sleep at 2 in the night and get up at some unearthly hour also!You learn to feel happy even when your sweet box which your mom has sent lovingly gets empty , without you getting a single morsel .. :-) . You learn to take a bath , iron your clothes and get ready in some 5 minutes! You also learn to become a specialist in 200m race as you find yourself doing it everyday as you are perenially late for class!You learn to fight for yourself ...you can never get more independence or freedom , so you have to learn to use it properly.
Happiness, togetherness, tears , emotional outbursts, philosophical discussions, companionship , memories...these are the best things about hostel life...these days will never come back ...so we should not bear grudges! These will be the very people whom you will miss and you will cry for as if you are saying goodbye to a friend, a brother or a loved one!
Enjoy and live everyday as if it were your last ...you will not regret it!It makes you more human!